


Neral, Herald of Noise

by tanglemagic



Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Autistic Tien, Lightweaver Tien, Tien Lives, Yeah i've never posted on Ao3 before idk what im doin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-15 05:14:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19605496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanglemagic/pseuds/tanglemagic
Summary: Tien has spent 6 months in Urithiru, and he though he might've finally escaped highstorms, but loud noises have followed him even here. aka I Hate Fireworks.





	Neral, Herald of Noise

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fracture, Break, Reweave, Repeat](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17188055) by [Pachimew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pachimew/pseuds/Pachimew). 



> Worth mentioning that Fractal (and most of Tien's character tbh) are inspired by Ambs' wonderful writing, especially fracture, break, reweave, repeat.  
> I may have accidentally written this in a way that it could be continued as part of a longer story. no promises.

A new Radiant had joined the forces at Urithiru. A dustbringer, charismatic, and charming, and endlessly willing to showcase his powers. Tien wasn’t impressed, nor was Fractal. Neral seemed perfectly nice and happy to assist in the fight, and the number of Radiants was sorely lacking, but together they weren’t sure they trusted the man. Tien felt guilty judging him, but there was something about him that gave the feeling his kind facade could drop at any moment.

Today, Tien sat on a high balcony overlooking the oathgates. He’d spied on Dalinar last night and finally discovered what he’d been looking for for so long. Kaladin returned today. He’d never learned the nature of this extended mission, but he’d waited months for its completion. But those months were cremwater to the time he’d spent unaware his brother was even alive, much less a Radiant in the alliance at Urithiru. He and Fractal had followed vague rumors for what must have been a year before they ended up chasing them across the Shattered Plains and sneaking into a mythical magic city.

He’d been around quite a bit since those first days of bonding with Fractal, and he hadn’t yet made his presence as another Radiant known. Tien been in Urithiru for half a year. Near the beginning, he’d sometimes lightwove his way far enough in to catch a glimpse of his brother, chatting happily with his famous bridge crew. Even then, he desperately had wanted to catch his arm, show off all of his new rocks and bring back memories with the old ones. But watching him, their shared changes were blindingly obvious. He’d been scared, though it’d taken Fractal embarrassingly long to drag that out of him. Kaladin had left soon afterward and today would be his first chance to talk to him.

After so long spent here, he still couldn’t bring himself to trust many of the people around him. Tien was sure that the Kholin’s were reliable, and Fractal was always a help in the discovery of lies, but politics were confusing enough without this maelstrom of cultures and panic added to the mix. And some of these were the people that had gotten him “killed” in the first place. Kaladin was the only one Tien could trust, and perhaps more importantly, the only one who would trust Tien. Except that he thought Tien was dead. TIen stridently pretended ignorance both at his worry on the subject and Fractals sudden interest in his lie.

So now here he was, watching for his brother to finally return, but until then, his thoughts returned to Neral.  _ Neral _ . He swore he wasn’t obsessed with the man, he was just always  _ there _ . Like now—there he was, gliding around among the Oathgates like that young girl he’d sometimes seen, yet different. This was one of those parts that gave Fractal and he reason to distrust the man. 

Neral claimed to have bonded his spren just months before his journey to Urithiru, but how was he so storming skilled with his powers?

And able to be seen.  _ You’re jealous _ , Fractal hummed, and yes, he knew that, but it wasn’t the point. 

Their orders were different, true, but he’d seen Lift using her slickness, as she called it, and she had none of the man’s careful control. She tore around the tower, traveling floors in seconds before slamming into walls hard enough to break bones. He’d tried to offer help once, but she’d only pulled a pancake from her pocket, ate it, told him her pet voidbringer had helped her steal it from Adolin Kholin, and walked off while her arm returned to its normal bend.

Neral, however moved like the dancers he seen once while chasing rumors in larger cities. Every movement of theirs had been controlled, and utilized muscles Tien only knew of from his father. The program had said it required years, a lifetime even, to become as skilled as those dancers had been. And Neral, with no prior examples and only a few supposed months of practice, moved with their same control, placed on powers no one had known for centuries.

Tien rolled a rock over his palms as he thought. Neral was a dustbringer, while he’d never seen it, he knew what his other power was. Division. People still told stories of the other known dustbringer—Malata. It wasn’t very considerate, but maybe that was another reason he distrusted Neral. The only other of his order had betrayed them and killed hundreds when she’d activated the Oathgate to allow Odium’s singers into Urithiru.

Tien corrected himself. He’d never seen his other surge until now; The man had gathered a crowd of more people than Tien had spoken to in his 6 months on the tower, and now gestured vigorously at a large rock he’d somehow gotten to the middle of the courtyard.

With a  _ Crack! _ Tien was sure wasn’t necessary, the Neral laid his hands on the rock and began digging his fingers into what quickly became dust. Chunks of rock fell away to reveal a surprisingly accurate, albeit oversized recreation of the Dustbringer’s face.

Tien began to grip his rock harder when the man flung an excess stone high into the air, and somehow broke it apart in a combination of fire and dust, accompanied by a crack that bordered on a boom. When Neral happily accepted yet more stones from his growing crowd, Tien’s breath began coming faster, and he turned to Fractal.

“This isn’t how today’s supposed to happen. Kaladin’s finally coming back, today is supposed to be good,” he winced and frantically dug in his pockets for a new rock as his voice rose.

Another sharp noise and Tien finally realized what he was reminded of.  _ Lonely nights, thinking his brother dead, too scared to return to Hearthstone. Sheltering from the highstorm alone in makeshift shelters with only a strange spren for company. The crash of the stormwall, not alone this time, he’d found shelter in a village but they’d mis-noted their calenders and weren’t prepared, so here they were, half a village shoved in only one shelter. Calming at the passing of the stormwall, only to jerk at every stray boulder in the winds. Missing his brother, missing his parents, they’d always helped him, and played with his rocks, faces shining in the steady white light of diamond broams. _

He’d thought he was above them now, safe here on Urithiru, but no. As long as he was alive, highstorms would haunt him.

_ He wastes stormlight on lies _ . Fractal hummed.  _ His performance requires none of this noise. _

Tien was sure Fractal meant to be helpful, but… “I have to get somewhere else.”

_ Mmm. Follow. _

Tien exchanged rocks again and pressed his ears closed. Peering into the corridor, he sucked in sharply and threw what was surely among his worst illusions over himself. 

_ Here. I will hide you. _

Sighing in relief,Tien released his visage and followed as Fractal scouted empty passages. When the sounds changed yet again, he stole a glance out the window and squinted when he saw that Neral had done away with rocks entirely and now threw sharp lines of fire with snaps like whips.

_ The Everstorms first coming, unplanned, unprepared. Lightning, new, and red and harsh, accompanied always by a grinding thunder. Unprotected, he could only watch, and try for what remained of hope. _

The sounds faded the lower they traveled, but Tien’s breath remained uneven and quick as they reached layers that had yet to be utilized. His spren guided him to a clean room with low light, and he curled in the corner.

All he’d tried to do today had been sit and wait for his brother and enjoy the wind, and swing his legs in the open air and watch the clouds and be  _ alone _ . But now those  _ Cracks! _ echoed in his ears so loudly that he couldn’t tell whether he’d escaped them.

Realizing he’d drawn in stormlight in all his breathing, Tien breathed out and lightwove a wall on his open side, blocking out the faint light and hiding himself from except from anyone observant enough to notice how thick the wall was. 

Scrambling for his rocks he dropped several on the hard stone floor, and lost control of the rest when he flinched at the clacks. He ran his hands over his selection, old favorites and new experiences both. He tried a couple as he focused on breathing but nothing worked.

Tien’s frustration grew he considered his options and cursed himself for not trying this earlier like he’d meant to. He had the right rock, porous and bumpy, but just a little rough and new enough that he wasn’t too attached. It would be perfect if only it’s texture was more smooth, like glass. He closed his eyes, preparing to fall into that land of beads—Shadesmar, as he’d recently learned it was called—but nothing came. 

“Please,” he begged, to the rock, to Shadesmar, he wasn’t sure he knew what, but he couldn’t find that unique sensation of falling but not, of seeing, but only in thought. 

His breath came faster. His palms sweat and eyes grew wet. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t soulcast, but his attempt to help had only served to further his frustration. He’d had moments like this, more often than ever since Urithiru, but rarely this bad. He couldn’t think, but that was the problem, he  _ could _ . His mind moved faster than he knew, processing a hundred small irritations and memories and even his ever quickening breath couldn’t keep up with his need.

_ Here _ . Fractal’s voice finally registered as she shoved into Tien’s hands. Unconsciously, he closed them over her, and allowed her to guide him in summoning her as a shardblade. But not? It was as if he’d summoned only the pommel, except as a better shape. His fingers found the winding patterns and details the Cryptic had added for him. One part had the bumpy, porous texture with the glass smooth material he’d wanted, and another had holes perfectly fit to his thumbs, of varying depths. 

Last, he found an unending spiral of sloping lines, impossibly intricate on something so small, and yet his fingers never hesitated as he traced the lines. His breathing slowed until it followed his completion of the spiral. He was vaguely aware of Fractal’s guidance in his mind.

_ Breathe in. Trace to top. Breathe out. Finish tracing. Breathe in. _

It occurred to him—or to Fractal?—that he hadn’t slept much, lost in his thoughts about Kaladin. The floor was hard, but it was blessedly dark, and quite, and he breathed as his thumb traced that spiral, never ending, consistent, and still always new. 

As his breath finally slowed and thoughts grew blessedly quiet, Tien slept.


End file.
